Abstract

The historical background of Ferdinand Tönnies’ differentiation between community and society was the late transformation of the feudal order of estates into modern civil society in Germany. Sociological theory turned the Tönniesian typical distinction to a historical one between traditional and modern society. The text argues that community does not mean a small society, but its counterpart. Based on this terminology, the relation between local communities and global society can be divided in three different types which can be described as compensation in the Western World, hierarchy in Asia and regression in failed states.